The use of flushing toilets has been a necessity in residential homes, business establishments and public facilities for many years. In all the toilet designs a universal problem that exists is the need to eliminate or to reduce odors, bacteria and other offensive vapors that emanate from the toilet bowl after the toilet is used.
There are various toilet designs and methods disclosed in the prior art that have attempted to eliminate or at least reduce the odor emanating problem. The prior art designs and methods include adding additional structural elements to a toilet and the surrounding area, installing filters and/or adding chemicals to the toilet water to neutralize the offensive odors. Generally, the prior art designs, when compared to the instant invention have a relatively large number of structural elements, are difficult to install when supplied in a kit form and require periodic maintenance. As such, none of the prior art designs has found any significant acceptance by the general public.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any industry literature or U.S. patents that read on the claims of the instant application. However, the following U.S. patents are considered related:
PATENT NO.INVENTORISSUED5,079,782SimJan. 14, 19925,016,294CanovasMay 21, 19914,165,544BarryAug. 28, 1979
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,079,782 patent discloses a toilet assembly that includes a toilet bowl having a ventilation conduit that is located adjacent to the back wall of the toilet bowl for ventilating odors from the toilet bowl. The ventilation conduit, which includes a fan, extends around a siphon conduit at a point where the two conduits communicate with a sewer discharge line. Raising the toilet seat cover activates a motion sensor that activates the fan member, thus allowing the objectionable odors to be ventilated directly into the sewer.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,294 patent discloses an odorless toilet that functions with a toilet seat adapter unit that provides a seal around the toilet seat. The toilet seat adapter unit is located between the toilet seat and the upper surface of the rim of the toilet bowl of a conventional toilet and includes a plastic plate that conforms to the toilet seat. A first set of plastic clips are affixed to the lower surface of the plastic plate to prevent the plate from slipping on the rim's upper surface. A flexible plastic hose is looped around the upper surface of the plate and is held in place by a second set of plastic clips. The hose communicates with a vacuum pump or exhaust fan that reduces objectionable odors.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,165,544 patent discloses a system for eliminating odors from a toilet assembly that includes a toilet bowl and a water tank that is connected by a discharge pipe to the toilet bowl. The water tank includes an overflow passageway that is connected to the discharge pipe so that water in excess of the desired level is dispensed into the toilet bowl and through which the odorous air is withdrawn from the toilet bowl.
For background purposes and as indicative of the art to which the invention is related reference may be made to the remaining patents located in the search:
PATENT NO.INVENTORISSUED6,370,703Kim, et alApr. 16, 20025,355,537RedfordOct. 18, 19945,341,521RedfordAug. 30, 19944,133,060WebbJan. 9, 19794,103,370ArnoldAug. 1, 19783,805,304IkehataApr. 23, 1974